Today I managed to change my just about overflowing DivaCup with one hand, in a small public bathroom, with a toddler strapped to my back... and I didn't spill it even a little. I feel like this is a feat worth mentioning to someone, PPK!

holy forking awesomeness, you guys. mooncup UK (the most amazing and far superior cup, ha ha) has figured out a way to be allowed to ship to US addresses again! they changed the name to MCUK (removing 'mooncup' from the name, for US peeps only) and now you can have your very own!

the diva cup did NOT work for me, but holy goodness i love my mooncup UK. you can get one here:

I'll get to try my diva cup for the second time this month. I really want to love it, but my first experiences were less than pleasant. It popped upon right when I was pulling it out (after a couple of test-inserts) and hurt like hell!

I do have a couple of questions though...how far does you insert your diva cup? Should the little plastic end be sticking out of you, or does it disappear inside? I was really afraid to insert it too deeply, and irrationally thought I would never be able to remove it. Also, to open it, do you turn it in increments are you insert or one full sweep when you've got it fully inserted? Help! I want to love my diva cup but the first time just didn't go so well :(

cakenstein, I insert the cup as far as it will go, then twist it around until it unflattens and opens up. I find that if I go sit down right after I insert it, it moves into where it needs to be. Also, I ended up cutting off the stem of it because the cup hangs lower in my body, and every time I sat down the damn stem would pinch me.

I'll get to try my diva cup for the second time this month. I really want to love it, but my first experiences were less than pleasant. It popped upon right when I was pulling it out (after a couple of test-inserts) and hurt like hell!

oh god, that happened to me, too, when i was first trying it out. it happened so many times and i was so frustrated and in terrible pain, i just gave up. but then i did some more research online (there is a livejournal community: http://menstrual-cups.livejournal.com/) and found that before pulling it out,you have to slip your index finger inside you, up along the side of the cup and press it to release the suction, then pull it out slowly.

cakenstein wrote:

I do have a couple of questions though...how far does you insert your diva cup? Should the little plastic end be sticking out of you, or does it disappear inside? I was really afraid to insert it too deeply, and irrationally thought I would never be able to remove it. Also, to open it, do you turn it in increments are you insert or one full sweep when you've got it fully inserted? Help! I want to love my diva cup but the first time just didn't go so well :(

i cut the stem completely off mine; i haven't needed it. it was uncomfortable. to open mine, i never twist it. i use the punchdown fold and push it in very slowly until i feel it suctioning and opening. sometimes it doesn't open right away, but usually once i stand up it does (i sit on the toilet when inserting and removing). and if not, then i just walk around and wait for it to pop. i can't stand the feeling of grabbing onto it and twisting it around, so i don't do it. i just wait for it to pop...sometimes it takes a little while, but it does, eventually. heh.

you will love your cup, i promise. i hated it when i first tried it, i couldn't get the hang of it (i didn't even know about the punchdown fold...ugh god that c-fold would've killed me) and i was in so much pain and humiliation/shame because i was all "ugh i don't even know my own body why can't i do this what the fork is wrong with me") and now, two years later, i am happyyy

have you used one before? i had a very traumatic first experience with the diva, and it turned out that: (a) i had ordered the wrong size, and (b) the dimensions of a different cup fit me better, anyway. BUT i know a lot of people use the diva and love it. if you haven't used one before, are you sure it's pushed up far enough? generally speaking, they shouldn't be anywhere near the opening to the outside world. ;)

_________________i'm not around much, but that doesn't mean i don't love you.

Can you feel it as in stem poking or just generally? The latter shouldn't really be happening if it's in the right place. I can't feel mine at all, and it's a large size. Maybe give it another try slightly further into your period, since your cervix might be low right now. I know the diva cup is on the long side, so a shorter brand might suit you better? It depends what your issue is, really. There's a size comparison chart somewhere on the livejournal community.

Today I managed to change my just about overflowing DivaCup with one hand, in a small public bathroom, with a toddler strapped to my back... and I didn't spill it even a little. I feel like this is a feat worth mentioning to someone, PPK!

Doesn't it feel like such a great personal victory? I think I got unreasonably excited the first time I changed mine in a public bathroom and not in my shower, like I had done for a long time because I was afraid I'd get it every where. By the 2nd or 3rd day I was a pro.

Can you feel it as in stem poking or just generally? The latter shouldn't really be happening if it's in the right place. I can't feel mine at all, and it's a large size. Maybe give it another try slightly further into your period, since your cervix might be low right now. I know the diva cup is on the long side, so a shorter brand might suit you better? It depends what your issue is, really. There's a size comparison chart somewhere on the livejournal community.

yep, that size chart was a lifesaver for me (it's what helped me realize the mooncup UK was waaaay better than a diva cup, for my hoo). i'd agree that if you can feel it in there (not just that the stem is poking you), i might not be 'seated' correctly. ideally, you don't feel a thing at all, once it's in place. the only exception to that should be the stem, which most people trim so it doesn't pester them.

i'm sorry it's uncomfortable. i think there's a definite learning curve (there sure was for me, anyway) as you get used to the thing.

_________________i'm not around much, but that doesn't mean i don't love you.

I'm super excited... I finally mastered my diva cup! I got it well over a year ago, but wasn't having much of a period until 3 months ago (was on bc) so I haven't tried it more than a couple times and not seriously til my last period (where I had minor leakage with it). Today, finally, I got it in correctly on try #1, had no leakage, and got it out and emptied and back in easily! All on a heavy-for-me flow day.

It's odd, the angle it sits at when it's in, but once I just went with my body and let it do what felt correct rather than what I thought should be correct, it went much better! I'm quite familiar with my parts (thank you monthly IUD string check) but there was still a definite learning curve for the cup.

That was the best period I've ever had. I love my Divacup. I had a little leakage one time in the beginning, but I think that's just because I didn't quite have it in the best spot. I love that I didn't have to use tampons, so nice.

_________________I think my heart just exploded into a shower of glitter --TinLychee

I almost got a DivaCup because I saw it in Whole Foods, but my mother got freaked out half way, and didn't want to buy it. She's afraid it will get stuck. That was mortifying to hear. She thinks I should ask my father, but considering it took about a year to work up the courage to ask my mother, I don't think it's going to happen.

I'll just have to wait till I have enough cash saved up.

_________________Real vegans eat nothing but organic, grass-fed grass. - FootFaceI avoid protein on principle. - IsaChandraI used to dress up like Wonder Woman but I didn't grow up to an Amazon Princess who dabbles in bondage and flys an invisible jet. -idatetattoedguys

I'm supposed to have my period this week and today I was thinking, hmm that's weird, I haven't started yet. I finally realize I have my Diva Cup in already and that's why I wasn't seeing any bleeding, I must have put it in a couple days ago. I still can't remember when. I must be a total idiot, either that or I'm getting old and have destroyed too many brain cells. I was actually starting to worry I was pregnant or something!

_________________"If I were M. de la Viandeviande, I would now write a thirteen page post about how you have to have free will to be vegan, but modern science does not suggest any evidence for free will, therefore it is impossible to be vegan." -mumbles

I almost got a DivaCup because I saw it in Whole Foods, but my mother got freaked out half way, and didn't want to buy it. She's afraid it will get stuck. That was mortifying to hear. She thinks I should ask my father, but considering it took about a year to work up the courage to ask my mother, I don't think it's going to happen.

I'll just have to wait till I have enough cash saved up.

How is it any more likely to get stuck than a tampon? Actually, a tampon is worse because if the string falls off (as it did once to me), it's much smaller and can work itself up pretty high. A DivaCup's not going to do that...sigh...I'm sorry you have to wait on it.

_________________"So often I wish Adam were a real boy." - interrobang?!"If he was you'd hear him farting at the back of your yoga class." - 8ball